Your feedback on my last post, regarding choice of photo(s) for my upcoming advert has been incredibly helpful - thank you! I've a couple more days before I need to make a final decision, so please do continue to share your thoughts. It's incredibly hard to be objective about your own work, and even harder to see yourself as others see you.

Life has continued to be turbulent, and has required yet more sanity knitting. And you know what sanity knitting means, yes? Yup indeedy, it means Aran has another new Hat and there's another freebie pattern to be published.

Not that Aran needs any more Hats.

Garter stitch has to be one of the most soothing and relaxing stitches going, and it was the perfect choice for this Hat and my sanity. Given that it's knit in sock yarn then it's the perfect knitting for a night or two infront of the TV. 'Cos we all need those from time to time.

This is the quick version of the pattern: the fuller version (with other sizes) is coming in the near future!

BodyUsing Cable cast-on method, cast on 120 sts. Join in the round, taking care not to twist the stitches. Place stitch marker to indicate the start of the round. (hint: I generally work a purl row flat onto a cable cast-on then join in the round - gives a nicer edge to the garter stitch)

Rnd 1: Knit all stsRnd 2: Purl all sts

Work these 2 rounds, creating garter stitch in the round, until work measures 5.5in/ 14cm from cast on edge, ending after a purl round.

For this Hat I used a fairly equal mix of brown and blue sock yarn, in pretty random stripes. I didn't follow a specific striping formula, I simply changed colour when I felt like it. The only thing I did was to change colour on a purl round, as I like the effect it gives. For your Hat you could use one colour or five - it's entirely up to you!

On the last round of the Body it might be helpful to add an additional stitch marker at the 60st/halfway point - this will allow you to work the crown shaping with less counting.

Continue in this manner, decreasing 4 sts every other round, until you have decreased half the stitches - and have 60 sts remaining - ending after a decrease round.

The Crown can get rather awkward, as you're creating angled flat corners - you may find it easier to work the stitches parallel on 2 circs or 3 DPNs rather than try to continue working on a more circular set up.

FinishTo close the top, K30 and lay the Hat flat. Then proceed to work kitchener for garter stitch - PDF found here - to close the top. You only work half the stitches before closing the top, as this sets up the stitches perfectly for garter stitch grafting. If you don't fancy grafting, you could turn the work inside out and use a 3-needle bind-off, or alternatively, I think a crochet bind-off looks pretty neat with garter stitch.

Weave in all ends. Blocking isn't necessary.

This finished Hat is a little big for Aran, but that's cool, he'll grow into it. As there are sharp corners on a garter stitch ground he does get that little 'ears' effect. However, with more negative ease, the Hat will be stretched out and the pattern at the Crown becomes much more evident, a hint of which can be seen in the photo above.

It's a very simple construction but pretty effective, methinks. The ideal way to use up odds and ends of sock weight yarn.

When time is on my side again (after March/April?) I'll get this pattern formatted and uploaded as a PDF, along with the other recent free patterns. I'll also include a few extra sizes, too.

Changing the size is super easy - you want a multiple of 4 sts, and don't forget to factor in a fair bit of negative ease; 3+in is ideal for this Hat. I'd still check your gauge and if it alters, a quick bit of maths will set you straight :)

Although Aran is much better, he's still off school as his kidneys aren't functioning 100% yet and his immune system is still compromised. It's been a long recovery; we were discharged from hospital on 7th January, a whole month ago. He's been having weekly tests, and this thursday he's another bunch of blood and urine tests, and we're hoping they'll give us the OK for him to start hanging out with the hoards of little people again.

I'm still working part time while Aran is off; I've managed to conquer my pile of pattern writing and now a mountain of admin awaits. Methinks I'm only about 6 weeks behind now? It's always tough trying to balance working from home and a poorly kid, but we're getting through it.